SEO is an endless process that requires constant attention and updates, regardless of how optimized your website is.
When we look at how often Google makes changes to its algorithm, you might consider changing your SEO strategy and focusing on different parts of optimization at any given time.
1. Optimize for long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are search queries that (usually) consist of more than 2-3 words.They are one of the best ways to gradually increase organic traffic coming to your website.In general, long-tail keywords tend to have a higher conversion rate because the search intent is much more direct. For example, when a person types a long-tail keyword into Google like “best running shoes for kids”, they are more likely to buy the product than someone who types something like “shoes” into the search bar. When you do keyword research withSEO tools, you will quickly discover that long-tail keywords tend to have these properties:
- They consist of more than 2-3 words
- They have lower search volumes (but also lower keyword difficulty)
- They have a much more specific meaning
2. Create high-quality content
I high-quality contentcan significantly improve your ranking, bring more traffic to your website, and act as a “link magnet”.While it’s difficult to correctly describe what “high-quality” content should look like, there are some traits that top-ranking pages (e.g., long-form blog posts) tend to have, such as:
- Well-written and optimized text
- Original research or case study
- Links to various useful external websites
- Images, videos, and other visual elements
When it comes to the text on the page, there are a few things you can do to improve its quality:
a) Optimize your headings
Headings are visible “chapters” on your pagethat can break up text into smaller chunks to make it more visually appealing and readable. They are also used by Google to better understand what the content is about:
- H1 Heading: A main heading that serves as the title of the page. A well-optimized heading should always contain the main keyword and correctly describe the main idea of the page. H1 headings can sometimes also be used as functioning title tags.
- H2 and H3 Headings – divide the content into main chapters to make it more understandable for your readers.
- H4 and H5 – supporting headings that can add further context to your web page.
b) Make it scannable
Try to create content that users can quickly scan, every time they visit your pages.
Content that breaks down text into paragraphs, bullet points, tables, etc. tends to perform better in Google Search and improves the overall user experience on the web page.
c) Include a video
You can also add relevant videos from YouTube (or other sources) to your pages to make their content more engaging (and keep readers on your pages longer).
Blog posts that contain videos also tend to perform better in Google Search and attract more organic visitors.
3. Update old content
Make sure to update or re-publish your blog posts properly on a regular basis:
In general, any content goes through a certain “SEO cycle”:
- Content is published.
- The page starts to rank.
- It reaches its ranking potential.
- It slowly starts to lose its rankings (and organic traffic).
To maintain your rankings and keep visitors coming from Google, you should always keep an eye on your older content and improve those pages that are starting to lose their performance.
4. Optimize for featured snippets
When it comes to an “SEO quick win”, you should always aim to optimize your content for “featured snippets“:
Although you can’t “force” Google to choose your pages for featured snippets, there are some ways that can increase the chances of your content appearing at the top of the SERP:
- Optimize your content for long-tail keywords – queries that are “questions” tend to display featured snippets more often.
- Use the “inverted pyramid” style – try to answer the search query in your content right from the start – with the most important information first and additional context afterward.
- Format your content – make sure you use paragraphs, bullet points, numbered lists, tables, etc. to increase the likelihood of your content appearing as a featured snippet in a specific format.
5. Provide descriptive alt text
The image alt text helps users, screen readers, and search engines better understand what’s in the image.
Creating good alt text isn’t an exact science, but there are a few things you should always keep in mind:
- Provide a descriptive copy: make sure your alt text correctly describes what’s in the image and how it relates to the main content.
- Try to be concise: your alt text shouldn’t be longer than 125 characters (otherwise screen readers and Google might ignore it).
- Add your keywords (carefully): you can add your focus keyword to alt text for the most important images on your page. However, make sure you don’t just “stuff keywords” for the sake of image optimization.
6. Improve your title tags and meta descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are the first things users will see in Google Search.
With proper optimization, you can improve the performance of your pages and get more organic traffic to your website.
Title tags: make sure you always include your main keyword (naturally) in the title to make it more relevant for Google users. You can also add various power words, symbols, or your brand name to make it more appealing. When it comes to the length of title tags, they shouldn’t be longer than 50-60 characters.
Meta descriptions: similar to title tags, you can add your focus keywords into the copy and craft an appealing snippet that encourages people to click on your web page. Meta descriptions shouldn’t be longer than 160 characters.
7. Use short URLs
Shorter URLs tend to be easier to read, more appealing, and generally perform better in Google Search.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing URLs for your pages:
- The shorter, the better
- Separate words with a hyphen
- Try to include a focus keyword (naturally) in the URL
- Avoid special symbols or numbers
So, for example, if we had a blog post about ”
10 effective workout exercises for your body“, instead of writing the URL like this:
tuosito.it/blog/10-esercizi-di-allenamento-efficaci-per-il-tuo-corpo/
You should write something like this:
tuosito.it/blog/esercizi-efficaci/
URLs like this will look much better, cleaner, and easier to understand.
8. Implement HTTPS encryption
If your site is still running on http://, you might be in trouble.
Since 2014, HTTP encryption is one of the many ranking signals that Google uses to evaluate pages.
In other words,
get an SSL certificate as soon as possible!
Besides rankings, your unsecure site can also suffer in other areas, such as:
- CTR, dwell time, and bounce rate
- Reliability and credibility
- Sales and conversions
9. Focus on page speed
Page speed is one of the most important ranking factors in Google’s algorithm: if the site is slow, it will rank low.
Web page speed is fundamentally the amount of time it takes for its content to load correctly.
There are several metrics that are taken into account when evaluating overall page speed:
- Time to First Byte: the time of the initial loading process
- Fully loaded: the time it takes for the complete loading process
- First meaningful paint: shows how quickly your web page can load the main content
- Time to Interactive: time it takes to make a page interactive for users
Since 2010 (and with the 2018 update), page speed has been one of the many ranking factors used by Google.
There are numerous ways to improve the loading speed of your content:
- Optimized images: make sure to use optimal image sizes with appropriate file formats (e.g., JPEG, PNG, and GIF) and compression.
- Good web hosting: while shared hosting might seem like a good deal, paying extra money for dedicated hosting can significantly improve your website’s speed.
- CDN: Content Delivery Network can help load web pages even for users who are physically too far from your main hosting server.
- Caching plugins: plugins like W3 Total Cache or WP Fastest Cache can process and recreate your web pages’ content faster.
10. Stay updated
SEO learning is a constant activity that requires digital marketers to regularly read new search engine updates.
If you don’t want to be left behind, you should constantly educate yourself from various reliable sources such as:
- Our website – we always try to provide interesting and useful SEO information aimed at both beginners and advanced SEOs.
- Google Search Central (formerly Webmasters): provides reliable SEO resources and updates on Google’s algorithm.
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